State Leaders Ask Trump Administration To Fast-Track Controversial Water Pipeline

I-15 crosses the Virgin River, the main water source for southwestern Utah, in St. George. The controversial pipeline add to the water supply for a fast-growing corner of the state.

Judy Fahys
/ KUER News

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Utah leaders are prodding the Trump administration to expedite the Lake Powell Pipeline. They’re not asking for money but to speed up governmental approval.

All six members of Utah’s congressional delegation sent a letter to the White House Monday. They’re asking to have the pipeline to be declared a “high-priority infrastructure project.” That label would allow the billion-dollar-plus Lake Powell Pipeline to be fast-tracked through environmental reviews and approvals, thanks to an executive order President Trump signed just a few days after being sworn into office.

“There’s a mountain of environmental permitting that goes on a project like this,” says Mike Styler, director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources. “And sometimes agencies kinda move at a snail’s pace. And, if they were given some incentive to move a little faster, that would be great.”

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert made the same request in February. Now the delegation’s promising the project will create 90,000 jobs and generate $19 billion in sales-tax revenue.

Zach Frankel, who leads the Utah Rivers Council, says proponents are understating the costs and overstating the benefits, including the need for the pipeline.

“Unfortunately, they have created their own facts and their own version of information around the Lake Powell Pipeline,” he says.

The state has spent a decade and $32 million so far to assemble an application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. But the in-depth environmental review hasn’t started yet because of delays requested by the state.

The Lake Powell Pipeline would haul Utah’s last big share of Colorado River water uphill from Lake Powell, bring it halfway across the state and deliver it to fast-growing Kane and Washington Counties.